Spoken Word no. 83
Ordained
to Praise Honor and Glory at the Appearing
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Psalm
26: 2 Examine
me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
Psalm
139: 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me,
and know my thoughts:
Prayer
James 1: 2 - 4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall
into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing.
This morning I
would like to look at how that in every age God has always tested man. He
tested and examined His own Son to see how He would handle the Word test and we
know that every son that cometh to God must first be tried and tested. But we
also found that the test is to prove us. Not to disapprove, but to approve, to
show us off. Not that we have anything within our own selves that merits
anything, but the fact is that We are a chip off the old block so to speak and
God just loves to show off His Kids.
1
Peter 4: 12 - 13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of
Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad
also with exceeding joy.
That’s exactly what He did in Job's day.
He put Job through the test because He knew what Job would do. You don't test
your kids for Algebra if they haven't even learned their ABC's yet. You teach
them their ABC's and then you progress onto higher things. And so when you are
tested you should know this one thing. God has found favor in you, or you have
found favor in His eyes and He is just bragging on His kids.
I PETER 1: 3 - 7 Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time.6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice,
though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Notice again verse 7 because this is what
I want to address this morning. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
I like the Wuest Translation best “In which last season you are to be constantly
rejoicing with a joy that expresses itself in a triumphant exuberance, although
for a little while at the present time if perchance there is a need of it, you
have been made sorrowful in the midst of many different kinds of testings in
order that the approval of your faith, which faith was examined for the purpose
of being approved, that the approval being much more precious than the approval
of gold which perishes, eve though the gold be tried with fire-testing, may be
discovered after scrutiny to result in praise, honor and Glory at the time of
the Revelation of Jesus Christ;”
So we see then that
God only tests us or puts us to the test with the Purpose in mind of Approval.
Believe from the heart
57-0623 P:27 And Jesus
Christ, God's Son, Who's the Architect of the Church, come to this earth and
laid down the foundations. When He met the Devil, He was tested by the Word of God, and He said, "It is written,
men shall not live by bread alone." When he took Him to the pinnacle of
the temple, He said, "It is written." See the material He was putting
in His Church? He took Him to the mountain and showed Him all the great
programs He could have. He said, "It is written."All the Word of God
was time-tested. And He's the great Captain that's going before us with His own
bloody coat waving. But to the redeemed bought by the Blood of Jesus Christ,
has bought a Church by the Holy Spirit that's tested every bolt, and every
person that's ever anchored in this great Church of the living God. It's a
time-tested material, that does it.
I
CORINTHIANS 10:13There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: ( In other words, there are certain kinds of trials
and temptations we receive just because of our human nature, but the key is the
next thing he says here... but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.
This word
tempted here is a Greek word, PEIRAZO which means to: To try, or to make a
trial or test for the purpose of ascertaining the persons quality, or what he
thinks or how he reacts during the trial.
So we see here, that God purposely has a
means or method whereby He assures Himself of the progress He is making in our
behalf. To put it in better words, God has everything under control. He uses
tests to give Himself feedback and to give us feedback as to our Spiritual
growth, just like we do with our Kids. We hold up a tape measure to see how
tall our kids get, and we have them hop skip and jump to measure their physical
growth. We teach them subjects and we test them in those subjects to see how
well they are coming along. Well, God is our Father and why should we be
surprised when we ourselves are being put to the test. 1 Peter tells us we should consider it great
joy when we are being examined because we know that we can not fail
the test, and besides, the test is given because our Teacher and Tutor, the
Holy Spirit of God believes we are ready to move up a little higher. Just like
your final school exams each year.
Now let's go to
the Scripture this morning to see just exactly what I am talking about. Because
we are trying to help you come to that place of Worship and to feel comfortable
in that only provided place of Worship. Now let's just see whether or not what
we are telling you this morning is correct or not. So let's go to our Absolute,
the Word of God and The Vindicated Word of God as well.
Job 1: 1-12There was a man in the
So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. Notice how God is bragging on His
Kid Job. He says to satan, Have you considered my servant Job... Have you
considered Him... Now the word consider means this, Have you made a careful
mental note to yourself, Have you taken notice of so that you might understand
him better? And of course satan doesn't give in to God's bragging about His kid
Job, so he says, "Aw, yeah, but He doesn't serve you for nothing. You give
to Him and you protect him and watch over him and you've even put a protective
hedge all around him, so who wouldn't reverently fear you with that kind of
payback." Then we see that Job is subjected to many trials all at once
that satan does, but that God allows . And again we see God bragging on His Kid
Job
in chapter 2.
Job 2: 1 10 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself
before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From
whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and
fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And
the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an
upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth
fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him
without cause. 4 And
Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will
he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand
now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the
presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot
unto his crown. 8 And he took him a potsherd to
scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9 Then
said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and
die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one
of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God,
and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
So now the trials
become even more personal but yet Job continues to fear God. Satan even uses
his wife to throw criticism's his way but he even hold his head above that. And
so we see Jobs friends come along and they also throw criticism's his way. Have
you ever been through a trial when you felt that everything that could go wrong
was going wrong, and then to put salt on your wounds, your husband or your wife
criticizes you too. And then on top of that your friends join in the criticism.
That's when you feel like you are all alone in this world with no one who
understands you. But rest assured. God understands you and the very purpose of
these kind of trials is to let you know that He does understand and He is just
using the test or trial to tell you to come on up higher.
How can I overcome 63-0825M
P: 49 But in Noah's time there was eight overcomers, and that's what went
in. They were caught inside. Now, look, friends, I believe they're taping this,
and if it's on tape, whatever you do who's listening now, or who will listen
hereafter, the hour is very late, and you do have good intentions, but be
caught inside. Now, don't struggle. Not him that willeth or him that runneth,
but God, just let God. Just yield yourself to Him and walk on with a perfect,
satisfied faith that what God has promised He's able to perform. Not joining
one denomination or another denomination, and running this, that, or the other,
and trying this; just yield yourself to God and walk with Him, peaceful, quiet,
not interrupted; just keep on walking with Him. That's right. That's what I
told our brother that just had the breakdown. See? "Just yield to Him.
He's here; He Who knowed what you have done, and what caused your being and
doing this way, and all that. He knows all about you; and now He just told you
back just what to do." Now, I said, "Only thing you have to do is
just go do it; that is, forget all about the past, walk, live for the future in
the glory and Presence of God. 50 Eight
overcomers... In
the days of Daniel's time there was four overcomers that could stand the
test of fire and lions. Now, we're
expected to be tested. That's a good lesson for my brother back there also.
He that cometh to God must first be
tested. Tested what? With the Word. That's God's test. Do you believe it? He that cometh to God must be tested. That
only shows a true child (See, see?): be
tested. And when the test comes on, you
can't overcome 'less there's a test give to you. And when a test is given, it's to see whether you can overcome or not.
And Jesus said, "To him that
overcometh," the test. The test is the greatest thing that ever happened
to you. And I believe it's written in the Scripture, Peter said that our
trials are worth more to us than precious gold. It's a testing time; it's...
And one good evidence to us that God is with us, when we're tested, for all
children of God are tested and tried.
Let's look at another of His Son's. His only begotten
Son, Jesus. Hebrews
5: 8 - 9 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience
by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made
perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Chastizement = to train Educate, instruct Ephesians 6:
4 Nurture = Discipline
Hebrews 12: 1 -
6 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run
with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For
consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest
ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have
not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And
ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My
son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art
rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
God sent forth
His own Son into this world and tried Him and tested Him. But notice the Trials
did not come when He was in His younger years. You hear nothing about Him from
age twelve to thirty. But When He learned obedience it came though suffering.
We do not hear of a Suffering Jesus from ages twelve to thirty. As He learned
and Grew in Grace, then God tested Him just as He tests you and I. We find
Jesus receiving the Holy Ghost in the water when John was baptizing Him. The
heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit of God came down like a dove and entered
into Jesus. Then He went forth in a mighty ministry showing the people just what
it was that had come down to earth and was in this man. If you will notice,
when God was through with this ministry, when His Message had been rejected,
and the Messenger seemed to be defeated, that's when God stepped in to finish
the exam for Him.
In the Garden, God left Jesus there to
suffer alone. He asked His only close friends to come with Him to pray knowing
full well what fate awaited Him the next day, and yet His Friends could not
even comfort Him, they could not stay awake with Him. They kept drifting off to
sleep. So He knelt there alone as any man could be.
COMMUNION 57-0418 14
Now, if God did not spare His Own Son from the cruel testing, then He will not
spare you or I from the cruel testing. And Jesus was here confronting the
greatest test that He had ever had. Gethsemane laid just before Him, where that
once and final all-sufficient test must come, when the burdens of the entire
world laid upon His blessed shoulder. There was no one in all heavens or earth
could ever stood it but Him. And to know that all of the sins, of past sins,
and present sins, and future sins, rested upon this decision. And it was one of
the most greatest victories that Christ ever won or proved His great
Messiahship, as when He said to God, "Not My will; Thine be done."
That was the greatest victory He had ever won. All the demons of torment was
around to tempt Him and try Him. And when we get right with God, when our
hearts become pure and the Holy Spirit has taken Its place in our heart, it's
the most glorious thing to have testing. The Bible tells us that our testings
and trials are more precious to us than silver and gold of this world. So we
should be thankful.
Matthew 26: 36-50 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called
Surrounded by friends and yet so alone, facing His
testing alone. And you know what. The trials came hard and furious for a couple
days and then when it seemed like it was all over, God said, My Son, you have
passed your test, come up higher, and He raised Him from the grave and this
morning He sits in heavenly places "ever living to make intercession for
our confession."
And he says to you " Come Up higher, You've
passed your examine. You've passed your test" Let's Pray
Book of
Exodus 2 55-1006E P:14 Think. We have an Anchor (Amen.) that's in
the veil. We can't see it sometimes, but we know it's there. Like the little boy
was flying the kite. They said, "Where is it?" Said, "I can't
see it." Said, "I know it's still there, 'cause I can feel it."
So that's right. We may not be able to see it; times gets dark. The clouds may
hide His blessed face for a spell. But remember, the clouds may hide His face,
but it don't hide Him. It can hide the sun from you, but it's still shining
beyond the clouds. And faith sees the sun beyond the cloud. And here was Moses' mother in the conflict of
testing of her faith. And every
child, every son that cometh to God, first must be tried. God tests your faith.
Now, look like God could just simply bypass the whole thing and don't have
any--appropriate a way, and just cut the thing off, but it's better that He gives you a test, and then comes to you when
you're in the test. I like that, don't you? The greatest experiences of my life, is when I come up against a
mountain that I can't get over it, under it, or around it. And just stand
still, and God will move the thing back. And He will move... No matter how
dark the cloud is, faith pierces it yonder with a eye that looks beyond
anything that the Devil can set before you. 'Cause God is our victory. Amen.